Editing New Kids on the Block (section)

===1988–1989: ''Hangin' Tough''===
{{Main article|Hangin' Tough}}
After the failure of the first album, Starr had the group back in the studio for most of 1987 and 1988 recording their second album. Dissatisfied with the excessively bubblegum sound of their first album, the group wanted to have more input on their look, direction and song material. As a result, Wahlberg, Wood and Jordan Knight received [[associate producer]] credit on the final product. The album, ''Hangin' Tough'', was released to modest fanfare in September.  The album's first single was "[[Please Don't Go Girl]]", a ballad released in the spring of 1988. Failure seemed destined a second time when the song became another that went unnoticed by the listening public, and Columbia Records made plans to drop the New Kids from the label. At the eleventh hour, however, a pop radio station in Florida began playing the song. Scoring listener approval, it soon became the most requested song on their play list. When Columbia caught wind of the positive response, they decided to keep the group on its roster and put more effort into promoting the single. Columbia decided to re-shoot a music video for "Please Don't Go Girl", hiring director [[Doug Nichol]], and sent the video to thousands of radio stations across the country to show the group's visual appeal. National attention soon followed and "Please Don't Go Girl" eventually climbed to No. 10 on [[Billboard Hot 100|Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart]]—becoming the group's first hit.<ref name="billboard">{{cite web|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=new kids on the block|chart=all}}|title=Artist Chart History – New Kids on the Block|publisher=billboard.com|access-date=September 23, 2008}}</ref>

In the meantime, the group began making national televised appearances on such music programs as ''[[Showtime at the Apollo]]'' and ''[[Soul Train]]''. Producer Maurice Starr then held auditions to secure a band of musicians suitable for touring with the New Kids, approving musical director and keyboardist Greg McPherson, bassist [[David Dyson (musician)|David Dyson]], keyboardist Yasko Kubota, guitarist Nerida Rojas, and drummer Derrick Antunes. The New Kids later landed a spot as an opening act for fellow teen-pop act [[Tiffany Darwish|Tiffany]] on the U.S. leg of her concert tour. Sales of ''Hangin' Tough'' steadily increased as the group's national attention slowly rose. At year's end, the album's second single, "[[You Got It (The Right Stuff)]]", was released. The song was given a huge boost when [[MTV]] took notice of the group and began playing the video in regular rotation, including an appearance on [[Club MTV]]. By early 1989, it cracked the top five.<ref name="billboard" /> The New Kids hit pay dirt with their next single, "[[I'll Be Loving You (Forever)]]", which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in June.<ref name="billboard" /> The group had been scheduled to open for Tiffany once again on a [[Hangin' Tough Tour|second tour]], but their sudden popularity caused a reversal, and she wound up opening for them (although the two acts were technically billed as "co-headliners").

More top five singles from ''Hangin' Tough'' followed into the summer and fall, including [[Hangin' Tough (song)|the title track]] and "[[Cover Girl (New Kids on the Block song)|Cover Girl]]". Columbia Records also released the single "[[Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)]]" (a cover of [[The Delfonics]]' classic hit), from the group's previously overlooked debut album. The song went No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles<ref name="billboard" /> on the strength of the group's popularity and effectively jump-started the sales of that album as well. By the end of 1989, ''Hangin' Tough'' had climbed to number one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] Albums Chart and had gone eight-times [[Music recording sales certification|platinum]]. They subsequently became the first 'teen' act to garner five top ten hits from a single album.

Meanwhile, a top ten charting [[Christmas and holiday season|holiday]] album, ''[[Merry, Merry Christmas]]'', was released in the fall—spawning another top 10 hit, "[[This One's for the Children]]", and going double platinum in the U.S. The proceeds were donated to [[United Cerebral Palsy]], the New Kids' favorite charitable cause. ''Hangin' Tough'' would go on to spend 132 weeks on the chart, and in January 1990, the album won two [[American Music Awards of 1990|American Music Awards]] for "Best Pop/Rock Album" and "Best Pop/Rock Group". With the success of "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)", "Cover Girl", and "This One's For the Children", the group pulled off a rare feat of having three singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, but each from a different album.

Columbia Music Video also released a home video, ''Hangin' Tough'', a documentary on the band directed by [[Doug Nichol]] and produced by Bryan Johnson that included their four hit music videos and a live concert recorded during their 1989 tour. It achieved massive sales, earning a [[Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video]] nomination,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/grammy/videos.htm |title=Grammy Awards: Best Music Videos |publisher=Rock On The Net |access-date=April 17, 2012}}</ref> and was one of the biggest selling music videos of all time.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/22/business/the-media-business-new-products-help-to-bolster-music-sales.html?pagewanted=1 | work=The New York Times | title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; New Products Help to Bolster Music Sales | first=Geraldine | last=Fabrikant | date=October 22, 1990 | access-date=May 20, 2010}}</ref>

The then governor of Massachusetts, [[Michael Dukakis]], declared April 24, 1989 to be "New Kids on the Block Day".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/24/arts/new-kids-on-the-block-day-joey-mcintyre/|date=April 24, 1989|title=In 1989, Dukakis declared April 24 New Kids on the Block Day. Here's how the band is celebrating its 35th anniversary.|author=Matt Juul|newspaper=The Boston Globe|url-access=subscription}}</ref>